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Tengrisaurus

Averianov & Skutschas, 2017 TEN-gree-SOR-us

Named after Tengri, the sky deity of Mongolian/Siberian mythology, combined with Greek sauros, "lizard" — means "Tengri lizard"

137.1–132.6 million years ago Valanginian, Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous stages

Tengrisaurus is an extinct genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur known from the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) Murtoi Formation of Russia. The genus was described in 2017 by Averianov and Skutschas, containing a single species, Tengrisaurus starkovi, known from several isolated vertebrae. Despite being among the oldest named definitive titanosaurs, it is an anatomically derived member of the clade Colossosauria.

Diagnosis

  1. Strongly procoelous anterior and middle caudal vertebrae
  2. Horizontal, anteriorly directed prezygapophyses on anterior caudals
  3. Pre-epipophyses projecting anteriorly beyond prezygapophyseal articular surfaces
  4. Divided interprezygapophyseal lamina of anterior caudal vertebrae
  5. Postzygapophyses positioned well posterior to anterior end of middle caudal centrum
  6. Neural spine directed posterodorsally or posteriorly in anterior and middle caudals
  7. Solid bone structure of caudal centra (cells 1-3 mm)

Species

Tengrisaurus starkovi Averianov & Skutschas, 2017

Type species

Named in honor of Alexey Starkov for generous assistance and contribution to the study of Early Cretaceous vertebrates of Transbaikalia.

Holotype
ZIN PH 7/13 , Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences
Material
Anterior caudal vertebra.
Horizon
Murtoi Formation, Valanginian, Early Cretaceous , 137.1–132.6 million years ago
Locality
Mogoito, Buryatia, Russia The holotype and the two other original caudals came from Promoina Klevenskogo, a ravine within the Mogoito locality, from a small outcrop 5 to 6 m in length. Averianov and Skutschas (2017) name it in their remarks and Nessov (1995) had already used it for Mogoito sauropod material.

Notable specimens

  • ZIN PH 31/13

    Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences complementary

    First non-caudal vertebral element referred to Tengrisaurus: a posterior cervical (neck) vertebra described in 2025, extending known anatomy beyond the caudal-vertebra holotype and other referred caudals.

    Averianov et al. (2025)

References

  1. Averianov, A. O.; Sizov, A. V.; Grigoriev, D. V.; Kolchanov, V. V.; Skutschas, P. P. (2025). A sauropod Tengrisaurus starkovi from the Lower Cretaceous of Transbaikalia, Russia, and Asiatic origin of Titanosauria. Cretaceous Research 181: 106271. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106271 averianov2025b
  2. Averianov, A.; Skutschas, P. (2017). A new lithostrotian titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Early Cretaceous of Transbaikalia, Russia. Biological Communications 62(1): 6-18. Saint Petersburg State University. doi:10.21638/11701/spbu03.2017.102 averianov2017a
  3. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length estimate.

    jones2026b
  4. Nessov, L. A. (1995). Dinozavri severnoi Yevrazii: Novye dannye o sostave kompleksov, ekologii i paleobiogeografii [Dinosaurs of northern Eurasia: new data about assemblages, ecology, and paleobiogeography]. Institute for Scientific Research on the Earth's Crust, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg 1-156. nessov1995a